Portrait

A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery aims to bring people together in increasingly atomised countryCan a collective portrait of Britain hold together a country that feels as if it is splintering apart? That is the quietly radical hope behind Es Devlin’s new installation at the National Portrait Gallery: a living portrait comprised not of monarchs, politicians or celebrities but of thousands of ordinary faces drifting slowly into and out of one another.Created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab, A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery invites people across the UK to upload a selfie, which is then transformed into a portrait rendered in Devlin’s smoky charcoal-and-chalk style before joining a constantly evolving and revolving carousel of portraits projected on to a framed screen. Continue reading...

Painting that inspired depiction on £20 note more likely the work of John Opie, says Romantic artist’s biographerIn 2020, Tate Britain hosted the launch of a new £20 banknote bearing representations of The Fighting Temeraire by JMW Turner and the artist’s most famous self-portrait. Now a leading expert has said the latter work, part of the Tate collection, is not by Turner at all.Dr James Hamilton, who has published books on Turner and staged exhibitions at museums and galleries nationwide, said that while the painting does depict the English Romantic painter, it is likely to be the work of his contemporary, John Opie. Continue reading...

Toon Kelder artwork from famed Goudstikker collection resurfaces with descendants of Hendrik SeyffardtEurope live – latest updatesAn artwork looted by the Nazis from the renowned Goudstikker collection has resurfaced in the home of descendants of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator, according to an art detective.Portrait of a Young Girl, by the Dutch artist Toon Kelder, is believed to have hung for decades in the home of Hendrik Seyffardt’s family, Arthur Brand said, describing it as “the most bizarre case of my entire career”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Until now nothing was known about ‘Jersey’, depicted with naval officer, but research raises hopes he may have won freedomFor hundreds of years, he was known only as “Jersey”, an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds’ earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Continue reading...

Australia’s most prominent portrait prize was announced on Friday at the Art Gallery of NSW, where the finalist exhibition will open on SaturdayArchibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in picturesRichard Lewer has been awarded the 2026 Archibald prize for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer and senior artist Iluwanti Ken.The New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist was announced as the winner of the $100,000 prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday. The judging panel, comprised of the gallery’s trustees, selected the work unanimously from a field of 59 finalists whittled down from 1,034 entries. Continue reading...

The painting by self-taught artist Sean Layh was chosen by the Art Gallery of NSW staff who hang the finalists, ahead of the main announcement on 8 MayArchibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in picturesA portrait of actor Jacob Collins by Sean Layh has won the favour of Art Gallery of NSW staff, who awarded it the Packing Room prize on Thursday, ahead of the Archibald prize’s main announcement on 8 May.Layh, a self-taught painter, said winning the prize for his work – an oil painting titled The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke – was “one of the great honours of my professional life”. Continue reading...